Thursday, July 16, 2009

Dumpster Divers...county property values, diving dumpster, fear funny, recycle city, recycle reuse, recycling trash bin
Recently in a rare occurrence where I was watching the nightly news on KTLA, there was a story about people in my city who, in an attempt to combat dumpster divers, were given lockable trash bins. One lady that was interviewed said she felt violated, and another said she did not like it because it was her trash.

Now I understand that there is an inherent danger when dumpster diving where someone could get injured by reaching and getting cut on something. And, there is the whole adverse affect on property values for homes in the area to consider.

But if I was too lazy to take recyclables to a center and get the cash for it then anyone else who decides they want to take the risk of reaching into my trash bin and take those recyclables and getting money for it, then more power to them.

The only thing that I would be concerned about is making sure that people I do not know are not coming on to my property without my permission. Basically I would have a message posted on my trash bins that would state that anyone who wants anything in there is welcome to it. They just have to follow a couple simple rules.

* they can only search the bins on trash day, after I bring the bins to the curb, and before the garbage truck arrives.

* they may not come on to my property as it would be trespassing and I would reserve the right to rebuff them by any means permissible under the law.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

If you have not heard of him yet, you soon will. He is one of the most popular, clean, and talented comedians I have come across in a while.comedian, don't say to your wife, subway, tim hawkins, time of your life
Here are a couple of excerpts from a recent concert.

Monday, July 13, 2009

About a year ago when gas prices had jettisoned past the $4 mark I decided to use our stimulus check to get a motor scooter so I could save money on my commute I had no idea I would be embarking on such an unexpected and interesting new experience.biker motorcycle, my scooter, ride experience, riding activities, road rider, scooter news, speed scooter
Prior to this new venture to save money I had sworn I would never ride any kind of motorcycle, much less a scooter. But, necessity succeeded in changing my mind where nothing else could.

After I took the rider course and put together my new scooter, I suddenly discovered how fun and relaxing it turned out to be. That is when I am not almost being run over by Fedex trucks, or nearly getting run off the road by some lady in an SUV.

And, to be honest, now that I have been riding for almost a year, I really want an actual motorcycle. Of course this will have to wait until I am able to pay off some credit card debt and put something aside for this.

Something else I discovered shortly after I started riding is an unexpected camaraderie amongst fellow riders, both on motorcycles and scooters. People I don't even know started giving me a brief wave or a quick nod while coming past on the other side of the street. It was like I suddenly joined some sort of club or fraternity of some sort.

Yes, I realize that I am being a bit naive, geeky and showing how much of a newbie I am, but this was cool! At first I would not reciprocate the greeting, other than a quick nod, due to my relative inexperience on the scooter, but once my confidence level grew I started responding in kind.

Now it is not all the time do you see a fellow rider extending a quick greeting, but it happens often enough from day to day.

So, long story short, if anyone has been leery of getting on a motorcycle or a scooter, it is not all that bad as long as you are safe. And you never know when you will see a fellow rider coming the other way saying "hey there".